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Hey everyone!!! Soooo I have some big news, and it’s kind of sad news too. I will be deleting tumblr. I’ve not been liking the atmosphere lately.

You can follow me on other platforms though like Instagram and Tiktok. My username is i_a.m._writing on both of those apps.

I hope y’all decide to stick with me even though I’m leaving this app 🙂

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reblog this if your blog is a safe space on april fools and won’t have any jumpers, screamers, or anything scary or anxiety inducing

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hey could you hold this for me a second *gives you my hand*

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do you think clouds look down on people and think “that ones shaped like an idiot”

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me: i am INSPIRED i want to WRITE

my brain, immediately: i have never once even seen a sentence

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i broke down and made one of these things!! feel free to reblog here or use it somewhere else if you’d like some sent in ^^

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i hope all writers are doing good out there. remember it’s ok to take a break, and to be proud of yourself. it’s also ok to sleep, you don’t have to stay up all night. 

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My very favorite trope though

When characters A and B are facing some danger and character A puts out an arm to protect character B

Good variations:

-Character B doesn’t realize the danger until character A puts out his or her arm -Character A isn’t the larger or stronger character but still takes responsibility for character B’s safety -Character A doesn’t stand a chance against the danger -Character A continues talking like there isn’t anything wrong while standing between character B and the threat -Character A doesn’t get along with character B and/or vice versa -The danger is comically minor -Character A has seemed helpless or bumbling but is now revealing inner depths and hidden strength

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Writing is:-

1% opening a book

1% surfing the internet

1% staring at your draft

1% crying because of your characters

1% backspacing the whole thing and replotting

95% thinking of how you’re gonna describe someone’s eyeballs.

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Writing great friendships

Some of the best chemistry/relationships in fiction exist between characters who are/become friends. Here are some tips for making friendships come alive on the page:

1. Banter

One of the most interesting aspects of fictional friendships is the way the characters interact with each other whilst important plot points are occurring.

If your characters have easy banter, teasing one another without missing a beat and managing to bounce off each other even in the toughest circumstances, it will be clear to the reader that these two are/should be good friends.

Friends know each other well. They know the other’s character so well that they can easily find something to tease each other over. However, this also means knowing which topics are off-limits.

If you want to write a good, healthy friendship, your characters shouldn’t use humour/sarcasm as a way to hurt the other. It should be good-natured and understood as such from both sides.

Different friendships will have different types of chemistry. Some friends may tease each other with facial expressions. Others may already anticipate a snarky remark and counter it before it’s been spoken. Others will have physical ways of goofing around. 

Some friends might not tease each other at all. Banter isn’t necessary; it’s just a good way to make your characters come alive and make their friendship one that is loved by readers.

What’s important is chemistry - the way they automatically react to each other.

Think Sam and Dean in Supernatural or Juliette and Kenji in the Shatter Me series.

2. Mutual support 

Unless you purposefully want to write an unhealthy/toxic friendship, your characters should both be supportive of the other. 

This means that, even if one is the MC and the other the side-kick, both should be cognisant of the other’s feelings and problems, and should be considerate in this regard.

Few things will make your MC as likable as remembering to check in and be there for their best friend even when they are in the thick of a crisis.

You need to show your characters being vulnerable in front of each other and being supportive in ways that are tailored to the needs of each friend.

So, if one of the characters really responds to physical comfort, the other should know to give hugs/rub their back when they’re not feeling well. Similarly, if one of them doesn’t like being touched and responds to material comfort, have the other bring them ice cream and join them for a movie marathon. Whatever works for your characters.

What gets me every time is when a character is falling apart and won’t listen to/be consoled by anyone but their best friend (but this is just personal preference).

3. Knowing the other’s past/family life

This really only applies to characters who have been friends for quite a while.

Good friends know each other’s backstory - the highs and lows and mundane details. They know they layout of their family home and they probably know their family members well.

Friends will often talk about these things, only having to mention a few words for the other to know what they’re talking about i.e. “The ‘09 Thanksgiving disaster” or “You know how Uncle Fred is”

This will instantly make it clear that your characters are close and have come a long way together. 

Perhaps there are issues at home/trauma from the past that the other character will immediately understand. So, if one character appears with a black eye, their friend might know that the father was probably drunk the night before and got violent. Or if the character has a nightmare, the friend might know that it was about childhood abuse etc.

This can also apply to good things i.e. if one of the characters gets a nice note in their lunchbox, the other might know that their grandma is in town.

Whatever works for your story should be used to indicate the level of unspoken understanding the friends have.

4. Being protective

Few things will make your readers love a friendship more than the friends being fiercely protective of each other (in a healthy, non-territorial way).

Has someone hurt one of the characters? The other should be furious and want to exact revenge. Does someone say something demeaning to one of the friends? The other should defend them immediately and vehemently.

This can also take on a humorous twist if one of the characters starts dating someone. The friend can make extra sure that said date is sincere and promise to exact vengeance if their friend is hurt.

This can also be a great plot device, since it could explain why the MC’s best friend joins the quest/goes along on the journey. Perhaps this is the main plot point: a character seeking to protect/avenge their friend.

If you want to go in a toxic direction, this can be taken too far i.e. a friend who never lets the other spend time with anyone else/stalks the other/is patronising etc.

5.  Common interest(s)

Even if the two characters are vastly different, there should be something that keeps them together besides loyalty.

This is especially important for characters who become friends throughout the course of the novel.

This doesn’t have to mean that both of them go hiking every weekend or want to become pilots one day. It could be something small, like a love of cheesy movies or a shared taste in music. Maybe they both enjoy silence/don’t like other people. Maybe they are both social justice warriors, but for different causes. 

This could also be common characteristics instead of interests. Perhaps both are very ambitious/funny/social.

There should just be some factor that ignited the friendship and brings the two of them together.

This doesn’t necessarily have to be a big part of your story, but you should at least have it mentioned to make the friendship appear more authentic.

Reblog if you found these tips useful. Comment if you would like a Part 2. Follow me for similar content.

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Reblog this if you think writing is an art

I literally had to reblog this twice in a row

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I write: daily | most days | a few times a week | a few times a month | random

I write most often: when I first get up | later in the morning | afternoon | evening | the wee hours of the night | whenever

In one sitting, I tend to write: a few sentences at a time | a few hundred words | a few thousand words | a complete chapter/section no matter how long | whatever comes ... (there’s no in between, it’s either chicken-pecking away a few sentences at a time, or finishing a whole chapter in one night)

I tend to write scenes: in chronological order with no skipping | mostly in order but with some filler/skipping | whatever scene I feel like | who knows what’s gonna come out????

The things that come easiest to me are: dialogue | description of senses | description of action | description of characters | exposition | other

I tend to write: on a phone | on a laptop | in a notebook | on whatever paper I can find | with speech to text | in the blood of my enemies | it doesn’t really matter to me | on paper first and then typed up | old school typewriter

When I take a break from writing, it usually lasts: a few days | a few weeks | a few months | it’s kind of random

My favorite things to do when I’m on a writing break is: recharge with other creative hobbies | read/consume other media | do something physical | catch up with old friends | work on my WIP in other ways like with playlists or art | other

In general, I think my writing habits are: pretty much what I need them to be | okay, but I’m working on making them better | non-existent | not great :/ | i’m excited to develop them further | totally random | perfect for me :D

Tagging: @starlightandnightbreeze @anamikaa @the-tsar-unanswerable @pretend-im-normal and whoever else wants to do this!!! ☺️

Writing Habit Tag 🎆

Rules: copy and paste the paragraphs below and bold the ones that relate to you

I write: daily | most days | a few times a week | a few times a month | random

I write most often: when I first get up | later in the morning | afternoon | evening | the wee hours of the night | whenever

In one sitting, I tend to write: a few sentences at a time | a few hundred words | a few thousand words | a complete chapter/section no matter how long | whatever comes … (there’s no in between, it’s either chicken-pecking away a few sentences at a time, or finishing a whole chapter in one night)

I tend to write scenes: in chronological order with no skipping | mostly in order but with some filler/skipping | whatever scene I feel like | who knows what’s gonna come out????

The things that come easiest to me are: dialogue | description of senses | description of action | description of characters | exposition | other

I tend to write: on a phone | on a laptop | in a notebook | on whatever paper I can find | with speech to text | in the blood of my enemies | it doesn’t really matter to me | on paper first and then typed up | old school typewriter

When I take a break from writing, it usually lasts: a few days | a few weeks | a few months | it’s kind of random

My favorite things to do when I’m on a writing break is: recharge with other creative hobbies | read/consume other media | do something physical | catch up with old friends | work on my WIP in other ways like with playlists or art | other

In general, I think my writing habits are: pretty much what I need them to be | okay, but I’m working on making them better | non-existent | not great :/ | i’m excited to develop them further | totally random | perfect for me :D

Tagging: @crabification-nation, @brattyjen9, @solipsism-lemonade, @finnanbeaton, @writingamongther0ses, @radiomacbeth, @viawrites-andacts, @adelinemwriting, and YOU if you want to

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please interact with this post if you’re a writeblr blog who reblogs or posts:

writing memes

writing advice

just anything writing related in general

I need to follow a lot of you back but it’s easier for people to interact with this post directly than for me to go through my follower list

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10 scene ideas for any genre and any story

1. A scene where the character’s biggest weakness becomes their saving grace.

A paranoid character brings the thing that protects them, a gossip shares information about someone which allows someone else to save their life, an impatient person forces someone to leave before tragedy hits. This can be used for as many characters as you have.

2. A scene where their greatest asset becomes detrimental to them.

A loyal person ends up following someone who’s toxic, a brave person ends up getting into an accident, a neat person ends up throwing out trash which was incredibly important. Again, can be used many times.

3. A scene where a character receives a gift.

This is good for any number of things–characterization, plot movement, showing relationships in motion. It can be directly relevant to the plot or symbolic of something else. Make it a genuine but bad gift, make it an amazing but insincere gift–the possibilities are endless.

4. A scene where they give a gift.

Same as before. Good gift or bad gift, it can reveal intentions, move the plot forward, create symbols–this is such a versatile scene type.

5. A scene where a child needs help.

Lost in the store, stuck in a trap, fell while playing–it shows something very simple about your character that you can’t show in any other way. There’s a simple grace to helping a child that you don’t know, and how you handle it is more telling than how you’d help a child that you do know.

6. A scene where they wake up from a nightmare.

Now, I love dream symbolism as much as anyone else, but the conscious actions they take after having a nightmare (and the physical actions they take while they’re still asleep) are just as interesting, if not more. Do they fall back asleep? Eat? Call a friend? Draft a letter? Do they remember the dream at all, or just the fear that went along with it?

7. A scene where worlds collide.

Maybe a character’s friends come into where they work, or they run into people who they’re no longer friends with. A family member brings home their S/O to reveal it’s someone that the character dislikes. Two different parts of their life now meet. How does the character react? How do they consolidate the different versions of themselves?

8. A beach scene

Any TV show that has a beach episode is an anime, right? Well, regardless, swimming is pretty much universally beloved–which means your characters would probably love it too. (And if you don’t believe that this can work in your story, then get creative! It doesn’t have to literally be at a beach, but humanity loves swimming.)

9. A scene where a character gets new clothing.

They have to go shopping, sit through a fitting while their parents makes them a new shirt, rummage through the remains of society in a post-apocalyptic world. Unless you’re writing about nudists (and who knows, you might be), they need to get their clothes somewhere, and seeing how they respond to that, what clothes they pick out, and what the process looks like in this world can be incredibly telling.

10. A scene where plans fall through.

Spice up conflict in your story or just show how characters react when things don’t go their way. Chances are, your characters will make plans at some point in the story, and making them go wrong is a great chance to thicken the plot and make your character more relatable or dislikable. (Or both. Both is good.)

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Oh yes and a dagger strapped to your side too though!!!!!!! Like talk about CONFIDENCE 😱